Newts!

On our walk this evening we passed several ponds where we have seen the odd newt in past years. J climbed down from the path, but I wasn't sure it would be worth the effort.

He started counting and as he got to 8 I scrambled down. I counted 15 greater crested newts but J reckoned there were lots more. They were just swimming around, feeding and impersonating sticks on the bottom of the clear pond.

I only had my phone with me. Must start carrying my camera everywhere.

Fiddles on Fire

Fiddles on Fire festival started at The Sage last night. We went to see Martin carthy and Dave Swarbrick play in Hall 2 and appear in some pictures on The Sage's Facebook page.

Not featured in the photos, but did I see Mr Swarbrick wearing hand-knit socks? Looked like a self-patterned Opal/Regia type yarn.

The highlight, for me, was the duo playing in the concourse at about 7:15ish. Didn't get their names or manage to bring home the programme, which was a shame.

Not the Royal Wedding

Instead, I went to a spinning workshop run by Phillippa Joad of Wheeldale Woolcrafts in Marton.

We learned the basics of using an Ashford Traditional wheel (and now I want one, of course!)









I'm incredibly proud of my lumpy, uneven, first yarn!

Never ending stocking stitch

I have come to love fine knits. Obviously, as a knitter, there is a down-side to this. I have 300 stitches on the needles at the moment.



The pattern is Goodale by Cecily Glowik MacDonald. I love her patterns.

the yarn is Hero from Flamboyance.

Completed Cloud Chaser

I finished Cloud Chaser in Ethical Twist from Kemps.

It's a really interesting knit and took hardly any yarn (two and a half skeins). Unfortunately, I still haven't got to grips with my actual body size now and it's a bit big. Should be ok for layering in the winter, though.

Garden update

It seems a while since I posted any garden pictures - probably because the winter has been so long and depressing. Anyway, here we go:

Happy Mothers' Day

Mothers' Day and it feels quite springy here, but still cold. I don't believe the temperature sensor in the car when it says that it's 15 degrees out there. Must be wind-chill.



The garden is starting to wake up:




j gave me this brooch. I love it. It's hand made from an old domino.


For lunch:

Mozzarella and roasted veg tart. I found some really tasty mixed coloured part-dried tomatoes in herby oil in our mini-Sainsbury's. They taste wonderful. It's a real sign of the times, though.

Winged Knits

I'm a big fan of Cecily Glowik MacDonald's knitting patterns. I have already made Idlewood (see post from 27th February 2011), have the yarn for Goodale, Hollyhock and Streamside.

This weekend she has 20% off buying the patterns online through Ravelry. Go, quickly, now!